Picking Up The Pieces
by UchihaKage
Summary: An avid loner and a popular girl. What connects them? Rejection. As they try to make sense of their lives, everything around them changes including their perception of what it means to be true to themselves. Might be OOC.


Disclaimer: I own nothing

* * *

**Heart To Heart**

* * *

Hikigaya Hachiman wandered across the corridors of Sobu High with a can of MAXX coffee in his hand. Lunch break was almost over so he headed towards 2-F. As he approached the class, he stopped as he heard voices inside. He recognized the voices of Hayama and Yumiko, he wasn't one for gossip but anything against the faker was okay in his book.

"What is it Yumiko? Why'd you call me in class alone?"

_'Well, this got interesting all of a sudden, is she finally going to do it?'_ Hikigaya wondered as he savored the taste of the sweet coffee. _'Is this the end of riajuu kingdom?'_

"H-H-Hayato." Yumiko's voice was filled with apprehension and nervousness something you wouldn't hear normally. Silence regained and the ticks of the clock could be heard, she took a deep breath and spoke. "Ever since back in middle school, I admired you. I was happy, no, ecstatic when you decided to become my way you handled things, the way you make everything better and everyone happy. I-I love you. Please you go out with me?!"

A sharp intake of breath could be heard from Hayama. Hikigaya already knew what was going to happen._ 'Poor girl is gonna get crushed. I pity her for falling for such a fake but as they say love is blind. I should know afterall.' _

What looked like an eternity took only a second to happen. Hikigaya decided to retreat lest someone see him, the last thing he heard was the loud sobbing of Sobu's Fire Queen.

She didn't return to class that day.

* * *

The day passed in silence, an uncomfortable one that is. Hayama's clique wasn't jovial like always, they spent the day in awkwardness dragging along the mood of class 2F with them. In the service club, Yuigahama excused herself for the day and Hikigaya spent his time reading his light novel while drinking Yukino's tea. As far he could tell, the day was marvellous, who would've thought that he could find peace here in school.

Exiting from the side entrance, Hikigaya headed towards his bike in the parking lot. He couldn't wait to rest in the comfort of his home. Spotting a vending machine, he dispensed a can of MAXX coffee before heading to his bike. He stopped midway as he saw a troublesome sight, it was Miura Yumiko crying on the seat of his bike. _'Seriously, I understand the need to be private but why here of all places?'_ It wasn't like he could blame her either, very few commuted by bike to school this parking space was mostly empty.

Heading to his bike, he heard sniffles coming from the woman, he cursed silently as he saw his seat moist with tears. "Oi, woman. That's my bike you're crying on."

No reaction.

"Seriously move, I want to go home."

Again, no reaction.

"You're a mess, you know that. Go home, you haven't even came to class today."

A slight twitch.

"I heard you've confessed. Better luck next time, hope you find the right man in your life."

"You asshole!" She grabbed his collars as she pushed him in the ground knocking his bike aside. She was on top of him, her bloodshot eyes glaring at him. "How can you say that?! We've been together since middle school and you say better luck next time?! But I guess, you wouldn't understand what I'm currently feeling!"

"But I do understand." He was unfazed with her outburst as he stared back at her. "First you start becoming sad, you start to ask yourself questions like why did I got rejected? Or am I not good enough? Every action hurts and you can't even face yourself in the mirror, you feel like you cried for an eternity but the feeling doesn't go away then you become angry asking yourself whether they like someone else? You lash out at the simplest of things and you drive everyone away. At the end you feel hollow and you'd wish you never-

"bothered confessing." The blonde interjected, her grip became shaky as tears brimmed in her eyes. Hikigaya emphasised with her, her defeated look it didn't suit her. She buried herself in his shirt, her cries muffled. Hikigaya awkwardly patted her, he wasn't used to comforting others. After a while she stopped, she stood up and apologized for her actions.

"It's fine." Standing up, he picked up the fallen can of MAXX coffee and offered it to her. "Here, at the rate you're crying, your eyes will dry out."

"Thanks."

He went to his vehicle and cursed his luck, he unhooked the chain and parked it against the building before slumping down and sitting. "Great, the axle broke. Now I have to walk all the way to home." He was already thinking about the cost of the thing and the time it would take to fix.

"I'm sorry, it was my fault."

"Don't be, it was already starting to break." It was true. After the accident earlier this year, his bike survived however the axel wasn't completely safe. "More importantly, what are going to do now?" To tell the truth, Hikigaya was curious. It was the first time he has seen a riajuu rejecting a fellow one. What would happen now, he wondered? Will she follow the loner route or?

"I don't know." She admitted while taking a sip of of the coffee, possibly the only thing sweet in this bitter day. Her eyes were downcast and she had a subdued expression. "What can I do now?"

"I'd move on if I were you." The loner admitted. He was sure, unlike him she would be just fine. She was popular among the boys afterall. The rumour mill already blew so he was sure many boys will be approaching her soon. "Hanging on to the past is bad." Hypocrite, he hold himself.

She was silent as she looked at the sun making her look like a tragic heroine of a light novel tale. After a few moments, she sat besides him. The shade of the building provided them with a cover. "This is good." She referred to the MAXX coffee. "I thought it would be bad."

"Well, life is bitter so coffee at least should be sweet."

"For once I think I agree with you on something." She was contemplating something. She opened her mouth a couple of times but no words came out. Eventually, she decided to go for it and asked. "If you don't mind me askng, who was it that rejected you?"

"It was a middle school classmate." He replied. "You see, I was always the bullied person. When she started interacting with me, I felt happy. Weeks passed and I thought fell in love, I confessed and what an idiotic move that was." He had her attention and he continued. "I thought her kindness was special to me. As it turned out, it was the same for everyone, always the nice girl she was. That was the beginning of my hellish middle school years, the jokes increased, the bullying increased and that was when I started to actually grasp the concept of the society we lived in."

"So you decided to shun everyone because you were rejected?" There was no mocking in her tone just curiosity. "Why'd you do that?"

"It's not that simple, that was my breaking point. Years and years of building up and I think I stopped caring anymore but I started changing when I joined the Service Club." He was opening up to her and surprisingly, he found himself at ease talking to her. He thought it was because they both got rejected so they had a sense of kinship.

"I envy you." She had a bitter smile on her face. "Because of my stunt. I don't think Hayama would be happy."

"Hmm, If a bond is broken like that easily then I don't think its a bond worth saving." She was silent once again, she wondered if his statement was ture. It was already getting late. "This is the first time we ever had a decent conversation, didn't we? You'd always glare at me from your desk."

"That's because you are always acting like a creepy stalker and stare at our direction." She sighed as if dealing with a kid. "Honestly, just come and talk with us normally, its not like anything bad will happen."

"Yeah, no. Don't think so." Dealing with riajuu was not his forte. "Your topics are always so superficial and boring. Please tell Tobe to stop shouting about random nonsense."

She giggled and they shared a small laugh. Her chest felt lighter from the conversation. Who would have thought that the loner of Sobu would be the one to comfort her slightly. "Well I better go on. My mom would be worried. Again sorry about the bike."

"Treat me for a MAXX coffee next time."

"Thanks Hikio, I feel slightly better."

* * *

"I'm home." Hikigaya announced himself.

"Welcome back." His sister greeted him back. "You came late today, Onii-chan. Were you preoccupied with something?" The smell of fried vegetables invaded his nose and he could hear the sound of sizzling. Removing his shoes, he headed towards the living room and placed his backpack on the floor.

"The bike broke after an incident. I'll tell you about it at dinner." These was one of the activities of the siblings, they told each other about their day to relieve themselves of the boredom. Accepting a glass of water from his sister, he thanked her before gulping it down in one sip. "My legs are sore from walking."

"This is what you get for staying at home all the time gomi-chan."

"My dear little sister, are you implying that your brother is a Hikkimori? For your information, I do get out of the house."

"For groceries and trashy novels." Came the deadpan reply. She placed a hand on her waist and shook her head disappointingly. "At this rate, you might not find a job in the future and house husband is not a proper job."

"Stop mocking my future career." He placed his hand on his chest in mock hurt. "Even my sister doesn't believe I can make it anymore. What's the point of living?"

She whacked him with the laddle. "News flash, Onii-chan. To be a husband you need a wife. Don't worry though even if you stay single for life. Your little sister will be there to support you. Kyaa! That must have earned me a lot of Komachi points."

"Hey, cutest sister in the world. Aren't you forgetting something? Say for example our dinner?" At his reminder, she huffed and left for the kitchen leaving him alone. There was really no place like home for him. He can talk with his sister freely without getting criticised and vice versa. After a while, he decided to take a shower and wait for dinner.

Komachi served two plates on the table, one from him and for her. She spoke first. She talked about her lessons, her classes, her friends and time spent with them._ 'Damn insect, stop trying to hog all her time.'_ He wasn't worried though, after all his sister told him she considered Taishi as a friend only. _'I can't wait to see your face when you get rejected.' _

He then spoke of his day, nothing note of interesting before he started talking about Miura's confession. "You see, there is a girl in my class." Ignoring her shout of 'Yes finally.' he continued. "She loves this one guy from middle school, she confessed today and got rejected. The next time I saw her, she was crying on my bike, we had a little dispute and we conversed afterwards. I gave her some advice and that's it."

Komachi looked at him with a proud look and smiled. "I'm happy for you Onii-chan. You've changed, if it were your cynical self, you would have ignored her and moved on. It seems the Service Club is actually helping you improve but your story," She gave him a knowing grin. "it is something out of a shoujo manga, the girl gets rejected but in her despair, an unlikely person comes to her rescue beginning their tale of love."

"First of all, there is no love between us, if anything she hates my guts. Secondly, my life isn't a shoujo manga." 'It's more of a RomCom actually.'

"At any rate, I'm glad you helped her in her time of need."

He didn't reply and they continued their dinner in silence before doing their homework and going to bed. Hikigaya's last thought before sleep claimed him what was going to be Miura Yumiko's next move and how would she deal with the fallout.

* * *

Its been a week since Miura Yumiko got rejected. Encouraged by Hikigaya's words; In that week, she thought of possible reasons and circumstances on why she was rejected but in the end all she could conclude were two reasonable explanations. The first, is that Hayama was leading her on. The second was that he was keeping her by his side to maintain an image, of what she was unsure. Either way, both reasons didn't sound thrilling so she decided to hear it directly from the source instead. She fidgeted slightly as the door to the roof opened.

Hayama entered with a serious expression on his face followed shortly by his clique consisting of Tobe, Ebina, Yui, Ooka and Yamato. It was past school time so any chance of being interrupted was close to zero. She was surprised when all of the clique arrived but eventually she had to confront them so it was better this way.

"Yumiko, we've been worried about you, you haven't been yourself this past week. What happened?" Yui inquired with a concerned expression plastering her self.

"Y-Yeah." Tobe agreed with Yui's earlier statement. "Lately, you have been kind of distant and aloof. Come on tell us we're your friends."

Yamato and Ooka silently agreed while Ebina had an unreadable expression on her face. The still silence was broken when Yumiko started speaking again.

"Alright then, I'll tell you everything." She faced them and hesitated as she saw everyone's expression especially Hayama. As she stared at his eyes, a hidden message was conveyed, she understood immediately. There was no going back if she continued this path however she was willing to accept it. "I confessed to Hayama." Finally, she said those words.

Expressions of disbelief and surprise etched on their face however the most surprising one was Ebina who had a resigned smile on her face as if she expected this already. "I-Is that so?" Yamato chuckled awkwardly. "Congrats, I guess."

"No, that's not it." She shook her head in disagreement. "He actually rejected me which brings me to the reason I called you here, why?" Her voice hitched and her eyes were filled with sadness and desperation. "Why did you reject me after all the time we spent together?"

An uncomfortable silence filled the area, everyone was conflicted on what to do, everyone but Hayama. "I wanted to keep everyone happy." He said with a bitter smile. "It wasn't that I didn't want to date you. It's just if I did, everything will be destroyed. Our friendships, our time together and our clique. I wanted to protect all that and I can't bare the idea of losing all this."

Yumiko was taken back, that was the reason? That was so superficial and shallow, out of all the reasons in the world, this was it? Anger bubbled inside her. "You fucking coward!" Everyone recoiled at her sudden use of profanity. "What kind of half-assed reason is that? Did you really think that our friends are that superficial? We've known them for over a year, there's no way that us possibly dating could affect anything!" At the end of her rant, she was left panting for breath. 'At least use a common excuse like those in romantic movies.'

"Is that what you really think?" Hayama asked seriously. "Alright then, if our friends agree with you then I will gladly go out with you."

"Quit treating me like I'm some toy to do your bidding!" She exclaimed angrily. The damage has been done however and everyone started to wonder and think about the possible scenarios that might occur.

"I-I disagree with Hayama." Yui begun first. "I think Yuimko dating is O.K. I don't see any problem."

Yumiko's mood was uplifted be her words however her mood was shortly lived.

"I agree with Hayama." Ebina's voice was cold and her next words stung. "I think its too early for us to indulge in a premature relationship. After all, the chances of it continuing is low."

"W-Well after Hikitani confessed to Ebina, I realised that the time for love is difficult to judge. I-I guess its better to enjoy our youth today." Tobe said.

"I really don't think this is a good idea right now."

"Y-Yeah, I agree. Let's just forget all about this and continue to live normally."

Yumiko couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was the time spent with spent with them nothing but a lie? All of the memories and fun times, were they nothing but a farce?_ 'What was I thinking?'_ Angry tears bloated in her eyes._ 'I thought that they would understand. I thought I would understand.'_ She ran down the stairs ignoring their protests. Her mind was jumbled and she felt betrayed. _'I don't know what to do anymore. Someone help me.'_

* * *

"Have you heard Hayama-san rejected the fire queen?"

"Really? I always thought they were a thing, you know."

"He must have kept her as an item."

"Serves the bitch right, leeching off Hayama-sama like that."

"I know right."

"I heard Hayama-san kicked her from his clique."

"Poor girl, she must be in distress. Let's go comfort her~."

Those were just some of the things Hikigaya heard as he headed towards the club room. Yumiko didn't come to school today, Hayama and his trope were uncomfortable. On top of that, the rumors seemed to be circulating about them as well. Needless to say, it was a major hit to the popular guys. Even Hirutsuka-sensei seemed distressed by the mood of the class. As he neared the club room, he could hear arguing inside.

"Rejected, I will not allow Hikigaya-kun to undergo such treatment again." Yukinoshita's voice was full of anger. "Solve your own problems yourself! We aren't your personal slaves to do your bidding."

"I agree with Yukinon, Hayama. I don't think this a good idea, I won't like Hikki do this kind of thing again."

"But-"

"If we're done here, please don't come back until you have a reasonable request." As always, Yukinoshita's voice was strict and left no room for argument. He could footsteps coming closer, the door opened roughly and Hayama stepped outside. He was surprised to see Hikigaya but retained a neutral gaze shortly. Their staring contest lasted for a few seconds or so before he huffed and left, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Jeez, I wonder what those two did to Mr. Happy go lucky to make him this despressed." The black-haired teen said to himself as he entered the club room. He settled in his seat and took out a light novel. He started reading from where he last bookmarked however to his dismay, he stopped shortly as he realised he couldn't get in the mood of reading. "You know, you've been staring a lot ever since I've arrived."

Both had the decency to blush in embarrassment at being spotted. "Sorry, Hikki." Yui averted his gaze finding the ground suddenly more interesting. "Have you heard what happened to Yumiko?"

"Who hasn't?" He replied. "I'm sure at this point, she is already a social outcast like me." That train of thought made him slightly guilty however he soon discarded it. "What she did was basically a social suicide." Still he respected her decision, she decided she wanted to finally confess and went ahead with it, she wanted to pursue a genuine relationship but got rejected. 'Romance is truly for the fools. I, the monster of logic have since forgone such thoughts.'

"Y-Yeah, I guess she did." Her voice was barely a whisper but he heard it. Her expression showed guilt and remorse. "I want to help her Hikki. Yumiko doesn't deserve this treatment."

"What happened can't be reversed Yuigahama-san. She just have to pass this ordeal herself. You can give her encouragement but in the end, she'll have to learn to deal with this problem." Yukino empathised with her situation. She knew she was going to be shunned by her peers soon.

"Yumiko isn't weak Yukinon." Yui argued her point. "She has a strong will."

"Strong will doesn't have anything to do with it, Yuigahama." Hikigaya said. "Eventually, she will crumble under the pressure of society and she will do something drastic."

"What can be done then?!" The orange-haired girl was running out of patience. "There has to be some solution to her problem."

"There is one." Hikigaya declared surprising both his clubmates. "What kills a social suicide is another social suicide. If someone unpopular confessed to Miura right now and she rejected them, they would be the laughing stock of the school. She would be forgotten an-"

"No!" Yukonishita slammed her hand on the table and directed an angry glare at Hikigaya. "You won't do that! I won't accept such a method again."

"Hikki." She looked at him with a pained expression. "Y-You wouldn't do that again, would you?"

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just suggesting it. Force of habit." He truly was sorry, he didn't want to hurt them again. He truly felt guilty for the Kyoto incident but Hirutsuka-sensei's advice gave him hope to find the right way. Emotions and logic should always be accounted when dealing with a problem. "Why'd you assume it was going to be me anyway?"

"It's just that was the same thing Hayama suggested and he specifically said your name."

"I see." He offered meekly. Hikigaya should have realised it sooner, the dynamic of this club was fragile. Any action could upset the balance leaving them in a very awkward environment just like this one. An important but frightening question popped into his mind, if this was how things going to be whenever a difficult problem arises, how will he able to find his genuine thing here?

As for Miura Yumiko, she didn't come to school for a whole week.

* * *

Hikigaya Hachiman stood in front of the porch of Miura's residence. He ringed the bell and heard footsteps coming towards the door. The lock opened and an older looking Yumiko appeared. She wore an apron on top of a turtleneck sweater and a pair of sweatpants. She had blonde hair and olive green eyes. "Sorry, we're not currently interested in what you're selling."

"Ah, please wait a moment." He held the door before she closed it. "I'm Hikigaya Hachiman, one of Yumiko-san's classmate. I was sent here by Hirutsuka-sensei to inform her on what she missed, assignments and all that." Her demeanor changed from wary to relaxed. She ushered him in their house.

"Pardon the intrusion." He removed his shoes and felt a shiver of cold once he placed his feet on the wooden floor. He was guided to the living room which was in the main section, there was a step down step that lead to the kitchen. The walls of the house were filled with family photos. Interestingly enough, there were no rooms on the first floor, just open ended hallways. _'They must have redesigned the house.'_ He deduced.

She served him drinks, thanking her after he drunk the glass of juice. "Please be gentle with Yumiko." Her voice conveyed sadness and concern. "She had an argument with her father recently. She's been holed in her room for a week now with the only exception being the bathroom and food and even then she's not speaking anymore. I don't know what's going on anymore. I feel like I failed her as her mother but please if there is anything you can do to help her."

Hikigaya was definitely surprised by her sudden proclamation. There was desperation and guilt in her tone. He was envious, he wondered when was the last time his mother showed him concern. There was something worrying about her statement though. "Excuse me for asking Miura-san but aren't her friends more suitable for this task?"

"That's just it!" Her sudden increase in volume made him flinch. "I apologize for that, its just Yumiko hasn't talked nor tried to reach any of her friends. I even tried calling them but they were all sent to the voice mail. I wonder if they are the cause for my daughter's discomfort." She was now frowning and was displeased with the situation.

"I see." He understood now. Her mother was really desperate at this point. She didn't wan't to lose her daughter and husband over such a trivial matter so she decided to remain neutral. She must have decided at some point that Yumiko and her father would eventually reconcile however to no avail. Her next course of action was to call her friends to see if any of them could help her daughter but again it was a failure. It didn't matter who entered that door as long as it was one of her classmates. From there, she would take a stance and see what the problem is. "I'll do what I can."

Her expression brightened slightly and see took him to the second floor, her door had a nameplate on it in English letters. He approached her door and knocked on it. "Hello, Yumiko-san. It's me Hikigaya." Calling her Miura would definitely be awkward because that was her mother's name. He heard rustling on the other side but there was no indication that she was going to open the door. "Hirutsuka-sensei sent me to keep you up to speed on the content you've missed."

No resposnse. Letting out an audible sigh, he decided it was best to handle the current problem first.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She didn't bother him with a response. "Look, I know you're in pain but if you think lashing out like this is going to help you're wrong. I already told you I've been there before but still you did this. I guess human nature can't be underestimated." He sat against her door feeling that this might take a while. He could only curse Hirutsuka-sensei for his dilemma.

"This isn't about the confession." Her voice was hoarse. "It's about another thing all together."

"Did something happen?"

"..."

"If you aren't willing to talk about it, you'll never find a solution to your problem."

"It's about the clique, or should I call them ex-clique. I told them that I got rejected. I thought of possible reasons why and you know what he told me, he wanted to keep the status quo!" She was pissed alright but that was Hayama for you, always playing the mediator role. "I was angry and he told me if the clique approves, he will date me. What kind of bullshit is that?! Yui approved but the rest," she choked back a sob. "they betrayed me. I feel so angry and confused. Did they betray me because I haven't told them? All I wanted was to be loved, is that such a bad thing?"

_'All I wanted was your love Orimoto, is that such a bad thing?'_

Hikigaya had to be careful of his next words, her mentality was fragile and any wrong word might cause the situation to become worst. "No its not." He begun. "Its not wrong to seek love. Those were your feelings and you chose to let them out, it is a shame that you were rejected but it is what it is. As for your friends, I don't think you need their permission to date someone."

"So you are saying I am right and they are wrong?"

"It's not about the matter of right and wrong. I don't think its that simple. I don't know their reason but if I were you, I'd probably want to prove them wrong. Be Miura Yumiko the person not Miura Yumiko the Fire Queen, the persona of which the school views you as." It was silent and Hikigaya felt he messed up. "I'm sorry, forget about that, it was a mista-."

"Thank you." The door opened slightly and he saw her condition. There were bags under her eyes and she was pale. "I see why Yui speaks so highly of you now. I thinks its too late though, the whole school already heard about me and I'm probably going to be ostracized."

"There's always space for one more in the loner club."

"That depends," she had a small smile on her face. "what are the advantages?"

"Does a lot of free time count as an advantage?" She giggled at his response and Hikigaya felt his heart beat faster for a moment before he calmed himself. "You made me realise that I need to rediscover myself. I think I realise now why I was confused. I always thought I am what I am because I was the one who made myself but as it turned out I never was." She ran her hand along her hair. "Stupid! I don't even know what I'm saying anymore."

Tears fell to the ground as Yumiko continued to cry. These past couple of weeks had been hectic for her. Hikigaya could only watch silently. Suddenly her mom rushed past him and scooped her daughter in a hug. "Yumiko, I heard everything. I'm sorry, I wasn't able to understand you better."

"N-No. I'm the one who should be sorry mom. It is not your fault nor father's. Please forgive me."

Both mother and daughter cried as they embraced. Hikigaya felt elated that he didn't hurt anyone in the process. 'Logic and emotion, huh?' As he stared at them, he felt a pang of jealousy arising. When was the last time his mother ever hugged him like that?

* * *

**Thanks for taking your time to read this. This idea had been playing in my head for a few weeks now and I thought why not give it a go.**

**As evidenced by the title of this fic, both 8man and Yumiko will try to gain something they lost. Both will follow the same path as they try to reach out to each other. **

**I hope you enjoyed it, feedback is always appreciated.**


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